About The Rock Factory,
a home for Blackpool small businesses

What The Rock Factory is

We let ground-floor units, small offices and, from spring 2027, first-floor storage pods and rooms. Everything is in one building at The Old Rock Factory, Keswick Road (off Park Road), Blackpool FY1 5PB.

The ground-floor units range from 150 sq ft to a 300 sq ft two-storey unit. Some open with a roller shutter, one has a security door you walk through, and the biggest has an upstairs office or storage area with a window. Rent is based on floor area, so you pay for the space you actually use.

You can see every unit side by side on our unit comparison page, or start with the storage and business units overview.

Move in. Plug in. Start trading.

That line sums up the whole idea. A lot of small businesses lose weeks before they can work: waiting for an electrician, arguing about a broadband install, finding a deposit for the utilities. We have tried to take all of that away.

• Lighting, electricity and Wi-Fi are already connected in every unit.
• No utility deposits. You pay for the electricity you use at the supplier rate, with no markup.
• Rolling monthly terms. The minimum is one month, then one month's notice when you want to leave.
• Need more room, or less? Swap units any time, subject to availability.

The power is standard single-phase, the same type you have at home. That suits most small businesses, from laptops and sewing machines to hand tools and repair benches. If your work needs three-phase power, our units are not the right fit, and we would rather tell you now.

Who it's for

We had a few kinds of people in mind when we set the building up, and we expect to be surprised by the rest.

• Online sellers who have outgrown the spare room. See our ideas for online sellers.
• Makers, artists and people who repair things. Our workshops and studios page explains what works well.
• Tradespeople who need somewhere dry and secure for tools and materials. Try the guide for trades storage.
• Freelancers and small teams who want a door they can close, in one of our small offices to let.
• Households who need space while moving or decluttering, in the first-floor storage pods opening in spring 2027.

Every business use needs our approval first. We keep the building low-risk, so a few things are not allowed: car storage, cooking or hot food, melting or heating combustible materials (candle or soap making, resin casting, 3D print farms), and storing flammable liquids or gases in bulk unless we have agreed it in writing. Work with wood, paper, card, fabric and dry goods is fine.

The people in the building

A building full of small businesses is better than a row of locked doors. You get neighbours who understand what it is like to run something on your own, and sometimes they can help.

Two businesses are already here. IceWork does web design and SEO, and offers tenants a website for £200 instead of its usual £350: see IceWork web design in Blackpool. Blackpool Building Services is also based in the building. You can read more about both on our businesses page.

Shared facilities help the place feel like a workplace rather than a storage yard. There is a tea and coffee room, toilets and water. You can receive post and meet clients at your unit, and you can use the Rock Factory address on your Google Business Profile, so customers can find you on the map.

What's ready and what's coming

We are opening in stages so that each part is properly finished before anyone moves in.

If you pre-book a unit, your first week is free. Pod and room prices are guide prices for now and will be confirmed before they open.

How renting from us works

We have kept the process short, because most of our tenants would rather be working than filling in forms.

1. Have a lookBook a viewing, see the unit and ask whatever you like.
2. Tell us your plansIf you are running a business from the unit, explain what you do so we can approve it.
3. Sign upPay one month's rent in advance and a deposit equal to one month's rent, show valid photo ID and sign a Direct Debit mandate.
4. Move inThe lights, power and Wi-Fi are already on. Bring your stock, your tools or your desk and get going.

The full detail is in our rental terms, written in plain English.

Access and peace of mind

You can get to your unit 24 hours a day. That matters if you sell online and ship early, work shifts, or just have your best ideas at midnight.

CCTV covers the entrance and the area outside the units, and tenants get free access to it through an app, so you can check on things from your phone. We recommend you also arrange your own insurance for what you keep in the unit, because it is your stock and your kit.

What we will and won't tell you

We would rather lose an enquiry than win one on a false promise. So if you ask about something we have not got, such as three-phase power, we will say so. If we do not know the answer to a question, we will find out rather than guess.

The same goes for prices. The rent you see for the ground-floor units is the rent you pay, subject to availability, with electricity on top at the supplier rate. The pod and room prices are clearly marked as guide prices until they are confirmed.

Why the name?

The building is called The Old Rock Factory, and we kept the name. The rock-making has gone. Today the building is home to makers and small businesses instead. If you are curious about the sweet itself, we wrote a short history of Blackpool rock.

If you would like to see a unit, message us on WhatsApp and we will arrange a time. Directions and what to bring are on our find us page.

Questions

Prices are subject to availability. Minimum rental term: one month, then one month’s notice to leave. Electricity usage is charged separately at the supplier rate, with no markup. Business use needs prior approval. Car storage is not permitted.